HPV in Women: Everything You Need to Know About the Most Common STD

It can go undetected for years.

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By
Julie H. Case

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is so common that the CDC estimates 90 percent of sexually active people have been exposed to it, and yet it won't send up signals. As with so many STDs, HPV often goes without symptoms.

"HPV is the most common STI—there are more than 200 strains that we know of—of them about 40 can infect the genital area," says June Gupta, women's health nurse practitioner and associate director of medical standards for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Almost everyone who has sex will get HPV at some point in their life. And, the infection usually goes away on its own."

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HPV is so common that the CDC estimates 79 million Americans are currently infected with some form of the virus, and about 14 million people in the U.S. will be newly infected this year.

The roughly 40 strains of genital HPV can lead to everything from genital warts to cervical cancer and, in rare cases, even vulvar, vaginal, or penile cancer. And, the strains are different. The kind of HPV that leads to genital warts isn't the kind that can lead to cervical cancer, for example.

Unless HPV develops into genital warts, most people diagnosing at home will never know they've been infected. When they are present, the symptoms of HPV in women commonly include:

Today, three vaccines prevent infections of the two types of HPV that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers; one also prevents infection of the two types of HPV that cause 90 percent of genital warts.

Not everyone, however, is a candidate for the vaccinations, which are typically recommended only for those ages nine to 26. Common thinking is that, given the prevalence of HPV, by their mid-20s most people have already been exposed to HPV. Studies on the efficacy of the drug in the older population have been extremely limited.

The most effective way of preventing HPV from becoming cervical cancer, says Gupta, is routine gynecological checkups. Pap smears can identify any abnormal cell changes on the cervix, and HPV tests can identify infection or recent infection with human papillomavirus. While condoms reduce the risk of transmission, they do not eliminate it as HPV can be transmitted wherever there is skin-to-skin contact.

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Typically HPV, in whatever form, clears on its own, however, if genital warts are present and uncomfortable they can be treated using everything from topical ointment to freezing to even surgery.

"With HPV, while it's not a curable infection, individuals who stay healthy—they stay active and don't smoke for example and have a healthy immune system are more likely to clear on their own, and at less risk of HPV becoming cancer or genital warts," says Gupta.